Question:
I've checked the archives, but I was hoping maybe someone had some new
earth-shattering method for curbing teeth grinding! My son (2 yrs, DS) has
started to grind his teeth, basically all day long. His OT thinks he is
doing it for stimulation and suggested giving him as many hard crunchy foods
as he wants/will tolerate.
We have tried chewy tubes (from the OT), and I even brought out an old binky
he used as an infant. He will chew on these things for a few minutes, then
throw them somewhere and start grinding again. Maybe the grinding isn't
necessarily bad (?), but it sure *sounds* bad.
Answer:
Your OT may be on the right track. The teethers don't really give him the
"crunchy" sensation. My daughter started grinding her teeth when she started
preschool because they wouldn't give her anything but soft foods because
they were afraid she'd choke (she had a g-tube but ate orally during the day
without any problems at home). Once we figured this out and insisted that
they give her more crunchy foods as snacks (crackers, pretzels, cookies) she
did it much less. I notice she tends to do it still if she has a cold, not
sure why, except that maybe it helps the pressure in her sinuses.
I'm not sure this will be helpful or not but maybe worth checking into. My
son is 11 and up until a few months ago was also in the grinding mode from
the time he was a tot. We started him on a calcium/magnesium suppliment.
It's a liquid, Orange-vanilla flavor, that I put into a little bit of OJ at
night for him to drink. He has stopped grinding his teeth AND his sleep has
improved 10 fold.
I did some searching on the internet and found a lot of information to
support magnesium definciency as a substantial cause for teeth grinding.
Here is one of the things I read a while back that convinced me to try a
suppliment.
"The minerals calcium and magnesium correct poor muscle function and
maintain a calm, controlled nervous system. Vitamins C and B complex are
also recommended to help the body cope with the stress that causes teeth
grinding. Calcium and vitamin B5 are particularly important in the treatment
of teeth grinding."
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/health/messages/16724.html
Very interesting. Sam definitely has a cold right now, so I'm going to
really try to keep track of the grinding and see if he does it less as his
cold improves. Great advice...love this list!
Well I don't have any solutions really but your email reminded me that Amy used to grind her teeth quite alot. This started when she was about 2 1/2 and we especially noticed it when she ate applesauce and puree kind of foods. She would also do it when she wasn't eating anything too. Whenever she would do this, we would say Aaaah, don't grind your teeth and usually she would be distracted and stop or we would stick something in her mouth or give her a drink. I haven't noticed her grind her teeth for a while and I'm thinking one of these things may be the reason: 1)her molars on the bottom are all through so maybe that's why she did it, 2)we haven't been giving her applesauce or puree because it is the summer here and she eats grapes and berries instead (she has a very limited fruit intake--she drinks fruit smoothies in the morning and otherwise won't touch peeled, cut or hard fruit (everything but grapes and berries it seems), 3)she has found her brothers' old bucket of matchbox cars and chews on those instead. She does seem to need to be chewing on stuff alot. Or lastly she may just have grown out of/forgotten about grinding.
She has 10 teeth on the bottom but only 5 on the top so I'm hoping more will come through. I know that kids with Down Syndrome can sometimes be missing teeth but 5 on the top seem to be alot to be missing. Has anyone else's child's teeth come through this late? My boys were later than most in their age group to get and lose all their teeth but this seems very late.
